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What do Mortgage Loan Originators Do?

Mortgage
loan originators work for commercial banks, credit unions, savings
institutions, and mortgage companies. They function as salespersons,
who together with realtors, property appraisers, and attorneys, work to
develop new business opportunities. Make no mistake -- this job is
about selling, and requires one to be good with dealing with the public!

Loan originators
interview mortgage applicants, analyzing and screening preliminary loan requests.
They gather background financial information, assist the borrower with
completing mortgage forms, and submit loan applications for processing.
They determine whether loan applicants meet the lender’s credit
criteria or loan standards; in so doing, the loan originator may call
the applicant to resolve discrepancies in the credit application, such
as a credit report showing late payments. They will package loans for review by
senior loan officers or a loan committee, and monitor progress of loans from the loan
application to loan closing.

Mortgage loan
originators spend much of their time out of the office, working with
laptop computers, cellular phones, and pagers to stay in contact with
their offices and clients. In many cases, they work from their homes,
and usually are assigned a geographic territory to work. While mortgage
loan officers may work a 40-hour week, they often work evenings and
weekends in order to better serve their clients. Weekend and evening
work is also required when there is a heavy volume of mortgage
originations and loan refinancings -- in other words, when the business
is there, the mortgage loan originator will be expected to be there as
well.

Employment change and job outlook.

Employment of loan
officers is projected to grow 10 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is about
as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth will be driven by
economic expansion and population increases—factors that generate demand for
loans.

The collapse of
the real estate bubble greatly reduced the size of the mortgage
industry's workforce. Going forward, most job openings will result from
the need to replace workers who retire or otherwise leave the
occupation permanently. Good job opportunities should exist for
mortgage and consumer loan officers as the industry retools.

How much does a Mortgage Loan Originator make?

Median annual wages of wage and salary loan originators were $54,700 in May 2008.
The middle 50 percent earned between $39,710 and $76,860. The lowest 10 percent
earned less than $30,850, while the top 10 percent earned more than $106,360.

How loan officers are varies. Most are paid by commission
based on the number of loans they originate. Some firms may pay only
salaries, while others pay their loan officers a salary plus a commission or
bonus based on the number of loans -- or the performance of the loans -- that they
originated.

Source for above: Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov

How does one become a Mortgage Loan Originator?

The SAFE Act, which was passed in 2008, requires that all residential mortgage loan originators must be
either federally registered or state-licensed. A mortgage loan originator
employed by a federally insured depository institution or any credit union or an
owned and controlled subsidiary that is federally supervised must be federally
registered, while ll other mortgage loan originatorsmust be
state licensed. All mortgage loan originators must be
registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry, which is
maintained by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American
Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.

Requirements for Licensure

As
a state-licensed mortgage loan originator, the applicant must provide
certain information to the NMLSR, including -- but not limited to
-- fingerprints for a criminal background check, a personal history and
disclosure of experience. Minimum standards for license issuance includes:

1. Never having had a revocation of loan originator license; 2. Never
having had a felony conviction involving an act of fraud, dishonesty,
or a breach of trust, or money laundering (no other types of felonies
seven years prior to application); 3. Demonstration of financial responsibility; 4. Completing pre-licensing education reviewed, and approved by the NMLSR (at least 20 hours); 5. Passing a written test developed and administered by the NMLSR (at least 75% correct answers out of minimum 100 questions). 6. States must
include a minimum net worth requirement or surety bond requirement for
applicants, or have had the applicant pay into a state fund.